Uzbekistan Desert

September 21, 2002

Fiona Grace Conner was born October 26, 1980 in the Hell's Kitchen section of Manhattan, New York to hard-working first generation Irish American parents. At age 21 she had accomplished more than most girls at her age had hoped to accomplish in a lifetime. She had won numerous trophies participating in parkour championships for team and individual participation. She played varsity basketball before graduating with Advance Placement courses at the age of sixteen. She did enroll in college with an accelerated bachelor's degree at NYU in Criminal Justice, which she hope to parlay into the CIA or FBI. However, she opted to join the army pre-9/11 in hopes to building her tactical and leadership advantage. She performed so well that she went through officer candidacy school and used her college education to get out of the enlisted ranks.

She wanted a career. She did want to marry someday and hopefully a few kids. She wanted to return home to see her grandmother and brother. It was a dream she built for herself.

However, she was on her knees and bent over with her face in the dirt. The terrorist have them in a prime execution style position. A barrel presses against the back of her skull as she hears the truck the group loaded Vincent into fade off into the distance. She could hear it as well as the distinct rattle. The rattle sounds east, which is in the direction of Tashkent. A likely haven for these terrorist.

Fiona could feel Mari's trembling hand reaching for her. As the two grasps hands, Fio turned her head in her direction and smiled weakly at Mari's tear and dirt stained face peeking up from the ground. They squeeze each other's hands tightly. Then she reaches over to grab onto Willie's hand on her other side.

Behind them, the terrorists were loading their weapons. Fio grew up in a Catholic neighborhood and went to church every Sunday with her family. As she grew older she began to wonder if what the church had taught from the bible was the truth. The realist in her made her skeptical of the stories from the bible and what happens in the afterlife; but as she heard the soldiers get into position, she began to pray hoping all she was taught was real.

"Our Father...which art in Heaven.." she began to whisper under her breath.

"Hallowed, be thy name…"

One by one they all joined in.

"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth, as it is in Heaven. And give us this day, our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. That tine is thy kingdom…and the power and the glory…forever. Amen

"Do you have any final words for this world?" The man in the black cloak asked them.

"I hope you choke on a camel's dick!" Mari's face twists into a caustic sneer; every syllable dripped with venom.

Willie raises up from his place on the ground until he was standing toe to toe with the leader. He spoke words that Fio will never forget.

"Today may be my dying day – but that's ok. My soul clean" Willie's stare was stoic and his words were soft. "My grandma raised me to do right by my fellow man and maybe I am no saint, but I sure as hell am no terrorist. And you may think that your askewed views of life after death is going to bring you a mansion of gold and your virgins, but it ain't going to happen like that. So if today I must die, I probably won't have a mansion, but whatever awaits me on the other side is going to be far better than what you got coming."

He glowers at the man before resuming the position.

The leader just smirks.

"Touching, but I am not a religious man. I am certain where I am going mansions of gold do not await me." His mordant laughter could provide shivers to even the most stoical of the human race. He approaches Rodriguez, who is crying in such a manner. "That may work for your mama, but I see you as a waste of oxygen."

Fiona has many things she want to say that could match the nastiness her friends spew. However, she was still alive and there was always hope. She had to be a leader and think of her little tribe.

"Where did you take Vincent Keller?"

The leader gives a condescending laugh before kneeling down and caustically whispers into her ear.

"Your friend is going to be a TV star!" the corrosive tone made the tough girl cringe. The vile laughter echo down into her soul. "He will be executed for the whole world to see. Don't fret as he will join you in hell very soon."

"However…" he laughs at her and touches her hair and neck. He slides it down her spine and grabs her ass. She is doing all she can to maintain her composure, but there were limits.

"If you want to prolong your life, you can always be my slave at my base. I like my women passionate and feisty." He licked her neck and the side of her face.

And the camel back did snap like a twig. She lifted her body enough to spit in his face. He grew angry and backhands her to the ground. He kicks her ribs for good measure before turning towards the men. He yelled something in Pashto. Fio only knew enough of the land to know what dialects were spoken. She knew a few words, but she didn't have enough of an understanding to get what the man yelled. However, the anger did make it sound like an execution order.

Each of them close their eyes and held each others hand. Bracing each other for the worse to come.

The shots rang out.

Fio winces, but it was not the fear of dying. It was the unknown where death would take her. She heard another round of rifle blast go across her ear, which cause an intense ringing. However, there was a distinct sound of wild animals before darkness consumes her.

Vincent and Catherine's Apartment
New York City SoHo District
Present Day

"Mother FUCKER!" Vincent groans loudly as he comes to opening his eyes. He rubs his leg that got the tranquiler dart then his eyes bore daggers into JT. "What in the hell is wrong with you?"

JT laughs and smirks.

"More than I care to elaborate on." He shrugs knowing Vincent is pissed at him. He also knew that Vincent would get over it. Perhaps his methods were not always well thought out and maybe it was not the right thing to do. In fact, he knew for sure that knocking Vincent out was not the best choice. He is just desperate to help his friend find answer and peace.

Vincent shifts his eyes to Cat who was leaning against the sofa and folding her arms. "Are you in on this?"

Cat held up her hands defensively while shaking her head briskly.

"Oooooh No! I had nothing to do with this! Did I JT?"

JT shook his head and sighs.

"No. This was all my idea!" He glared at Vincent. "Look, you are missing fragments of Afghanistan and a lot of trouble went into making sure it stays that way. For it to cause your body and mind to act like this, some serious shit must've happened. The only way to get to the bottom of this is to dig deeper into your subconscious and drag the memories out."

As if on cue, there was a knock on the door, which JT goes to answer. Vincent sighs and squirms in the chair.

"I really don't want to do this."

Cat joins him by his side and strokes his hair.

"Honey, I really think you should give this a shot." She places her finger on his lips when he looked like he was about to protest. She was getting to the point where she wasn't going to defend herself for looking out for her husband's best interest. She might not tranquilize him like some people, but she will put her foot down. "I know what you are going to say and I ask you to keep an open mind. This obsession is turning you into…" she stops right before she was going to call her husband a pain in the ass. "It's making you crazy.."

Vincent scoffs and shakes his head. Cat cut herself too quick and he caught it. He had a feeling she was going to say something potentially derogatory about him, which she was raised somewhat better than that.

"That is your polite way of saying I am driving people crazy?"

"Yeah." Cat smiles apologetically, which crinkles her nose in a cute way. It would take a serious amount of anger for him to stay mad at her when she does that. If there wasn't possible company, he would carry her into a bedroom and snuggles her up. Instead, he places his arms around her and pulls her close to him. "There is no question to how much I love you, but when you obsess…"

"I become a colossal asshat." he smirks as he completes what she really want to say. He bops her cute little nose. Cat closes her eyes in playful exasperation. Why did he have to be so cute and charming?

"I wouldn't go that far, but you do go a little overboard. It's not your fault, but it does drive people crazy."

Vincent leans back and purses his lips thoughtfully. He should know better than to question his wife's insight. Whether it was destiny or a weird coincidence, Cat seems to know him better than other people with very few exceptions. JT has been his friend for ages and he only does things when he knows Vincent will do things quite the opposite of healthy. Tess knows when Vincent is bullshitting her. He wonders who else is still out there that has that level of intimate knowledge of Vincent's brain.

"I'll work on that." he spoke sincerely and cuddles up with Cat.

There moment was interrupted when JT and a man they never seen before enter the room. Vincent can only assume this guy was the colleague from the university because JT is always lecturing people the purpose to hideout. However, the two guys were joking and talking about sports.

"Well, I predict the Mets are going to sweep the National Pennant. They'll lose the first two games to the Yankees in the series, but they will come from behind to win it all with a four game sweep. It's written in stone and there is nothing you can do about it!"

Cat winces trying not to interject. She is a New Yorker at heart, but the Mets?

"Keep dreaming!" his friends chuckles as he shakes his head. His voice drew attention to him. He is a slender man with healthy stock of black hair. He wore business casual clothing, which made Vincent unsure of what to expect. "The Yankees are taking it all the way and I'll bet you on my mother's grave."

"Your mother is alive and well in Queens, asshole!" JT ribs the man back.

"And when she leave us, I will place my values on her sacred resting place."

Cat clears her throat that causes both look at the couple. While Cat does look cute when she crinkles her nose, her 'Well?!' expression and body language sent the opposite signal. The 'Stay on task, asshole' expression was still cute, but never a good idea to take lightly.

"Hello…" she waves. "Remember us? We're kinda hard to miss in the room."

Tess was so rubbing off on her.

JT sighs and turns towards them.

"Sorry. We got so caught up in baseball stats that I forgot my manners." he places his hand on the doctor's shoulder. "Justin, these are my best friends on the planet. Vincent Keller and Catherine Chandler."

"Catherine Keller." Vincent corrects his friend before standing up and extending his hand. "Pleasure to meet you."

Justin gives Vincent a firm handshake. While Vincent was unsure of a few things, a firm handshake bode well for this newcomer.

"Likewise." he looks back and forth between the couple. "You two make a handsome couple. Have you been married long?"

Cat beams happily at the thought as a well as a disguise to her thoughts on the word handsome. There was a mixture of things that implied with handsome couple, but she decides to leave it to the man trying to be polite and professional. Handsome is a lot more professional than cute and sexy.

"Two wonderful months." she looks up at Vincent who smiles right back at her. He gently guides her to her feet and holds her close. "I'm a lucky woman."

"Don't let her fool you, I'm the lucky one!" Vincent smiles and turns towards Cat with a warm smile.

Justin nods and grins at them.

"Well, you both sound very happy and congratulations on your recent nuptials." he opens his messenger bag and pulls out a file. "JT did fill me in some of what you're going through, Vincent. Why don't we all take a seat."

Justin walks towards a chair as the group follows.

"So, should I lay on the couch?" Vincent scoffs and shrugs.

Justin gives a soft chuckle and leans forward.

"If you feel more comfortable that way, then by all means please do." he presses his lips together and maintains a stoic grin. "And I know this is very uncomfortable for you. Before we begin, I want to ensure that you are doing this of your own free will and your belief system with hypnotherapy. Do you believe this is a bunch of bullshit like 85% of the population?"

Vincent stood there in shock with the question, but shrugs.

"In all honesty, I am unsure about it all. After Afghanistan and a few things after it, the thought of people messing with my head left a bad taste in my mouth." he spoke as he glares at JT. He didn't say anything about how JT had tranq'd him and drag him to the apartment. "But I promised my wife and friend to keep an open mind." he presses his lips together to provide an uneasy smile. "So why don't you tell me how this works?"

Justin nods and puts on his reading glasses.

"Well, my first promise is the stuff you seen in TV and movies are complete hollywood bullshit. There is no trigger word that going to make you gobble. Also, this is not brainwashing, which is an unethical treatment that violates my own code of ethics. Instead, I am putting your mind and body into a relaxed state with a few exercises, which opens the subconscious more." he said tapping his lips. "Sometimes something occurs that the mind represses or someone forces it to repress, which makes it difficult for you to access it in your long-term memory. However, the subconscious mind has access to it, which is what is happening to you. Something triggers a memory, but you cannot recall what it was. We are simply going to tap into the subconscious to reconnect with the memory."

Justin takes a breath to analyze what Vincent thought of what he said thus far. So far, Vincent was just listening, which is a good thing. Skeptics think hypnotherapist will make them do something humiliating, or seduce them into sleep to violate them one way or another.

"You won't reveal anything you don't want to. You still are in control. The only thing that will happen is your body will feel like it is asleep, but all personal and professional boundaries will be upheld. Do you have any questions on the process?"

Cat caresses Vincent shoulders as he ponders what the doctor said.

"That sounds far less invasive than I thought it would be. Is this something that can be done in a single session, or will we have multiple sessions?"

"That depends on you. Not only on our progress, but how you feel about progressing. If you feel uncomfortable after this session, we do not have to continue." he takes a deep breath. "From what I understand, those memories are buried deep and that you may block much of it. It might be too painful to remember parts of it, but I am confident that we will hit key events that is affecting you deeply. Do you have any other questions or thoughts on the process?"

Vincent cups his hand over his mouth and remains silent as he holds Cat's hand. He sighs before going to speak.

"If any of these memories freak me out?"

"We will take you out of your relaxed state if you indicate or we feel you are in danger." Justin assures him. Despite people's opinions on hypnotherapy, his first duty is the well-being of the patient.

"Baby, what do you want to do." Cat asks gently. "You don't have to go through with this if you don't want to, ok?" she states before glaring at JT. She was so telling Tess because she knew her friend could give JT more hell than Cat could muster. "If you decide to go through with this, I'll be here with you and I'll not leave your side."

"Yeah, I'll be here too." JT smiles in an attempt to show support. "Ah..not that any fucks are given."

"I'm still not talking to you." Vincent grumbles playfully. JT was by all intents and purposes his brother. He knew that he only had best intentions even though they were sometimes not the right thing at the time. To this, Vincent just smiles. "I'm glad you're here, buddy. Thank you." He turns towards Justin before taking a deep breath. "Let's do this."

Justin seems a little concerned by the exchange, but sighs as everything seemed ok. He pulls out a notepad.

"Ok." he looks between the three of them. "So, Vincent, I want you to get comfortable. Start taking deep breaths to calm the body down into sedation, while focusing on one thought. That thought can be directly or indirectly tied to the events, but just one focus." he states before turning towards Cat" Mrs. Keller, your husband isn't going to do anything out of the normal, but he will not have the same depth perception. I do recommend moving away from him so he doesn't unintentionally harm you."

Cat's mind did reel a little at Justin's comments. Part of it was that the 'Normal' statement. It was obvious that JT did not reveal everything, which is a good thing. However, she wants to be with Vincent every step of the way.

"Um ok." she smiles a little uneasily. "I will just be over here, ok?" she spoke towards Vincent.

Vincent nods.

"I love you."

"I love you, too." Cat smiles warmly towards Vincent.

Vincent finds a good comfortable position and starts doing as instructed. He focused his mind on the image of Fiona, while taking the deep breathes. He felt his body relaxing.

"I'm ready."

Justin nods.

"Ok Vincent. I'm going to count backwards from 10. As I get close to the number 1, you will become more and more relax. So go on, and close your eyes."

Vincent complies with the request and continues to breathing deep.

"10, 9..you are now breathing easily and your memories are starting to flow. 8...7...6. You should begin to feel completely relaxing. The world is shut out of your mind except for my voice and the one focus. 5...4...3, you will find yourself dozing off into a state of complete relaxation. 2..1..you are now completely relaxed."

If Cat had read that transcript, she would call total bullshit. However, there was a method to how he was stating it. His voice got softer, and his tone gradually changes through the process, which she can only imagines tricks the mind into doing something different. She knows she relaxes when Vincent whispers sweet nothings into her ear, so there is something to it.

"Vincent, you may now open your eyes. Can you tell me what you see?"

Vincent opens his eyes and looks around. It was dark from wearing a blindfold. He could see light seeping through the dark cloth and heard a large group of people around him. He felt he was in a chair with shackles holding his arms back. As the memory begins to unlock, Vincent screams!


"No!" Tess held up her hand. "No goddamn way! I do not have time to babysit a new cop!" She folders her arms as she glares at Police Chief Ward. He had come by with a hat in hand to beg her to accept a transfer from Long Island 106th precinct. "I'm short staff as it is and Detective Keller has enough on her plate without having a tag along. Sorry Chief, but I have to respectfully decline."

Chief Ward dreads speaking to Tess because of her temper. He knew his request would not sit well with her. However, there is a new cyber-vigilante transferring funds from fortune 100 corporations with questionable ethics into offshore accounts. They think one of them was in the Cayman Islands, but it was difficult to determine where the money was going to, only that it was transferring. This process caused a lot of heat to come down on him, which meant he had his own problems to deal with.

"That was a rhetorical requests, Captain Vargas. Please, I'm not saddling you with green behind the ears rookie. This man is a decorated detective with ten years on the force. He may be able to teach you a thing or two about police work?"

Tess was drinking coffee and choked when those last words came out of the chief's mouth.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean? I worked hard for this position and…"

"Vargas!"

When the Chief hollers loud enough to rattle the windows, it was time for everyone to shut up and listen. Tess gulps audibly. Was she actually trying to argue with Chief Ward?

"I meant absolutely nothing about your abilities! You're a great cop, you are an even greater Captain. But this is a former special forces Army officer that left his military career with an honorable discharge and a chest full of medals. After that, he graduated at the top of his class from the Police Academy. Excellent record and damn good score on the detective exam." he stops long enough to look at Cat's desk. "And since Chandler seems to be setting her own working hours these days, I thought you could use the help."

Tess sighs and nods.

"You mean, Keller, right?" As much as she hated to admit it, Ward was right. "Ok, I can't argue with that. She just got a lot going on in her life, which causes her to be in and out." she shrugs. "But she's the best I got, so if you are offering me a well experienced cop around who can hit the ground running will be a huge relief." she takes a final sip of her coffee. "So when do I get to meet Steve Rogers?"

"How about now?" he smiles and waves his hand. Tess looks to see who he is waving to then sees a man outside the doors walk through heading in their direction. Tess stared a moment before dropping her jaw. Even if the chief didn't mention the military, she would have assumed by the form and posture of this man. After ten years on the force, some cops loose their brawn to coffee and donuts and it shows. However, this tall muscular frame moving toward them in plain clothes, which would make her swoon on any other day had likely never seen the inside of a donut shop.

"Faulks, I would like you to meet Tess Vargas, who is the captain of the 125th Precinct. Vargas, this is Detective Alex Faulks, formerly of the 106th precinct." The Chief places his hand on Faulk's shoulder. "Detective Faulks, Captain Vargas is your new captain."

Alex gives a polite nod and extends his hand cordially.

"Ma'am."

As she reaches out to shake the offered hand, Tess thought she heard it all before this moment.

"Ma'am?" Tess cocks her head in surprise and laughs. "Ma'am?!" she spoke again before laughing louder. "Have I really reached the age where I am a ma'am?"

The expression on Alex's face barely changes.

"Not at all, Captain. It's a term of respect. Where I came from, I could be court martialled for not addressing a superior officer with respect and protocol."

Tess chuckles and looks at him. She was deep in love with JT, but her subconscious mind didn't mind venturing them into the closet somewhere. It took all amount of professionalism to subdue that and ignore the fact he is extremely hot. However, it did strike her that he was an actual gentlemen. Growing up with five brothers and a mother who tried to teach them right, she was treated like one of the guys. Until JT and Vincent, she didn't know what it was like to be treated like a lady, which was a refreshing change.

"While I appreciate the respect, I would prefer you call me Captain, Tess, or Vargas. No more of this ma'am stuff because it makes me feel old."

Alex gives her a half smile.

"As you wish, Captain Vargas."

The Chief clears his throat.

"I need to get back to my offer, so I will leave you two to get better acquainted." he spoke before looking at Alex. "You're in good hands, but don't get on her bad side." he turns towards Tess. "I only give you my best of the best. This is one of the best cops New York has to offer, but keep him busy and out of trouble."

He puts on his hat and makes way to the exit.

As the Chief walks down the hall, Tess stares at his back with a raised eyebrow trying to figure out his last remark. However, she turns toward Alex with a half smile.

"Ok, well let's get you acclimated. Follow me to my office." she motions to follow her as she points out the restrooms, break area, and other key points of the station along the way to her office. However, she also used the walk to make key observations of him. So far, she and Ward had said more combined than this man has since their introduction, which marks him as a man of few words. There was also a sad, vacant look in his eyes. She seen that look before in veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, which includes her brothers. Considering the Chief said special forces, she can only guess at what shit he had seen.

As they enter her office, Tess sat in her comfortable chair and motions Alex to do the same. She looks at his transfer record and blinks her eyes at the his legal name and alias. Alex was his alias.

"So uhh.." she frowns as she studied the first name the best she could. "How in the hell did you get Alex out of … Askuwatueau?" she scratches her head and stares awkwardly. "I'm very sure I butchered the shit out of that."

Alex chuckles, which was the first she heard it. It was a light chuckle, which made her relieved. She heard people get bent out of shape about mispronunciation of names, even if the act was unintentional. There was pride in your name and then there was being an asshole.

"That is my birthname. I think the reason why I am called Alex is fairly evident."

Tess smiles and laughs.

"How do you even say that? Where is your family from? Russia? The Ukraine?" she made silly assumptions based what she understood.

"Aleutian Islands, Alaska." he replies simply. Tess wondering if this guy had any sense of humor, or if the war sucked every ounce of humanity out of him. She knows that being a cop is hard, but she heard about the terrors overseas. "And to answer your question about my birth name, you pronounce it "Ask-u-wat-u-ea-u, but very fast." He flashed a warm smile.

Tess nods slowly as she tries to process this.

"Ok, that's far too many syllables - I'll be sticking with Alex. Thanks for that." she puts on her reading glasses and looks at the file. "So why would you want to be transferred from Long Island? Most of these guys would kill for a transfer to an upscale location like..."

"Captain." Alex clears his throat to cut off her line of questioning, while he looks apologetic. He did get a startled look from her, which can lead to starting off on the wrong foot. However, she was asking questions that went above the job requirements. He knew that she was trying to be friendly and playful, but there were reasons he wanted a transfer to the 106th precinct that he didn't want to give anyone the liberty to. At least, not for now. "With all due respect, Captain Vargas, but can we save this conversation for another time? I would prefer to keep my reasons to myself for now."

Tess looks at him astonished by his candor and respect. With the exception of her father, JT, and Vincent, she didn't meet many guys who were not intimidated by her. She looks forward to working with a male that didn't make sexist remarks or like he wants the ground to open and swallow him if she had to reprimand. She nods and smiles towards him.

"Of course." she then laughs somewhat embarassed. "I apologize for the third degree treatment. I honestly wasn't trying to be nosy."

Alex held up his hand to wave it off and offers a sincere full smile. Tess is very much in love with JT and the relationship is the best thing in her life. She would never entertain the idea of walking out on JT, but the smile he gave gave her goosebumps. Her insides flutter like a teenager in love with a rock star, who was graced to be built by God himself. Beyond his looks, there was an air about him that sets him apart from other guys, which reminds her of Vincent. Rugged, athletic, and probably could finish any fight someone picks with them. At the same time, there is a gentleness in his actions like they could cuddle a puppy or a baby. If JT gave her a get out of jail free card for any guy, that would be too much temptation. She sighs in a manner only heard by herself thinking it is not going to be easy.

"Hopefully he does something to piss me off." Tess thought to herself. If he pissed her off, it would distract her from the adonis look and good manners.

"It's all good. You were trying to learn more about the new guy; nobody can fault you for that."

Tess nods and slowly continues with his record before closing it.

"Ok, moving on. I don't know what you've learned about the 125th precinct prior to coming over here, but I'm going to tell you this is not a place for the weak. If you can't handle the sight of blood or if you are turned off by violence..." Tess thunks her forehead then laughs. "Jesus! Look at me telling an Afghanistan war vet about blood and violence." She shook her head and took a sip of her water then back at him grinning. "I'm sure in Alaska, you probably had weekly calls of Penguins holding up convenience stores, or polar bears hijacking cars."

Tess looks at him in hopes he will say something base, which would distract her from his quiet, boyish charm. Instead, the guy cracked a smile and low laugh.

"Penguins are in the south pole, Captain. But near where I grew up in Anchorage we had this paramilitary gang of terrorists made up of puffins, caribou, and dahl sheep creating havoc around the community." he glaces sideways with an amused look on his face. "It was hell. I couldn't wait to get to Afghanistan."

Tess laughs and shakes her head.

"I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Detective Faulks."

Alex just nods.


Uzbekistan Desert
September 22, 2002

Fiona wakes up to bright light shining in her eyes. It was warm, but far from comforting. She rubs her eyes and blinks as she assess her surroundings when the spots from the light dissipate. With the exception of the sharp pain behind her left ear, she felt normal.

Then began to question exactly what was normal. Where the hell was she? Had she gone to heaven or hell? Was she in purgatory?

It all came flooding back to her. Her last memory was in the sand. Lafferty, Rodriguez, and Ryder. She heard shots fired.

After the confusion begins to diminish and world around her begins to focus, she notices she laying on something soft covered with blankets.

"Shit" she whispers aloud. She should be dead. As the reality hits her that someone or something saved her from certain death, a smile creeps onto face as relief spreads. She didn't know how or who saved her. However, the joy was short lived when she couldn't see any of for her friends or Vincent.

Fiona quickly sat up and looks around. Despite not recognizing the surroundings, she heard voices.

"I need 10cc's of morphine, STAT!"

"Get those clamps, now!"

She realizes she was in a mobile hospital unit in an army controlled area. There were a few spots in Afghanistan that a Blackhawk could fly to that was not near Kabul that would work out. However, she suddenly hears a familiar voice.

"Time of death, 0725 hours." Vanessa Chandler's spoke gravely nearby. "Don't notify the families or speak to anyone outside of command without notification of protocol."

The panic in their voices reveal the indiciation that all hell broke loose. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and attempts to stand up. However, she quickly realizes that something was keeping her from doing so...an IV and oxygen tube were keeping her body in this mordant prison.

As a second generation Irish-American, like her ancestors before her Fio could scarcely contain her tongue...especially when she was angry or frightened. "Where the hell am I?!" She shouts above the commotion. "Where is my team?!"

Almost immediately, she felt blood rushing from her head, which caused a lot of pounding. It didn't take long before Dr. Chandler and two medics were by her side to help her back into her bed.

"Fiona!" Dr. Chandler places her finger over the girl's lips. "You must stay calm. Your body has to rest." She strokes her hair gently and pulls the covers over her.

Fio shook her head and threw the covers off.

"Not until I know my team is safe! Are they all alive?" the medics attempt to restrain the feisty girl, but she provides them an ample challenge. "Where is Keller?" she demands.

Vanessa shakes her head.

"You will be provided an update on your team in a little while, but right now the best you can do for everybody is relax…"

Fio props herself up on her elbows starring Vanessa down telling she meant business.

"If somebody does not RIGHT NOW tell me where the rest of my team is and an update on Keller's location, I am going to rip out this IV and these fucking tubes, so please do NOT tell me to relax!"

"Oh shit…she's awake." She heard a familiar voice just outside as a medic wheeled in Lafferty who was smiling at her. "And causing trouble already."

"Mari!" She exhaled loudly relieved to see her. "Thank GOD you're ok. Has there been any news about Ryder and Rodriguez? "

"Only in the funny papers." Willie came in on crutches followed by Rodriguez in a wheelchair. "We heard shouting over here so we knew it had to be you waking up or somebody was trying to strangle a Jackal."

"Ha Ha…very funny." She snarls then grins. "Ok….bring it in…" she held her arms out to embrace them all. Each of them moved in as best they could embracing each other.

"So…" Rodriguez spoke in a low voice. "They had guns at our backs and they had every intention of firing them.' He looks at each of them seeing they were all as bewildered as he was. "What happened? How in the hell did we even get to the hospital?"

Fio recalls the moments before and after she heard the shots. The memory was vague, but before it all going dark, she thought she heard something out of the ordinary. Looking at the faces around her she senses they had all heard it as well.

"I heard footsteps coming from my right side." Ryder whispered so only the 4 of them could hear. "And just as the shots fired…" He hesitates before going further.

"You heard it too?" Mari interjects anxiously; her dark eyes widening. "I swear to God I heard an animal growling…"

Even though Fio heard the same feral growl they were describing, for now she played her hand close.

"What kind of animal did it sound like?"

Rodriguez shrugs.

"A bear? A big cat? I don't know what the fuck it was.'

"A werewolf." Mari tried to sound affirmative, but her tone indicated she did not know if she even believed what she was saying. "I do not know of any animal that sounds like that and that was no human."

Fio stood up and looks over the partition wall confirming nobody was lurking nearby then sat cross-legged on the cot.

"Ok..." she grabbed a napkin and a pen someone had left on the table next to the cot and looked at Willie. "Ryder…you said you heard footsteps coming from your right – did it sound like animal hooves...or...?" She prompts him for more details.

Ryder shook his head.

"Negative. It was boots." He was very confident in his recall of the moment. "When you hear boots every day, you just know, ya hear?"

They all looked at Willie then back and forth at each other. "You heard boots…" Fio looked from him to Mari. "And you say you heard animal sounds…what the…"

Before she could finish they could hear a soldier shout "Sir!" Instinctively Fio stuffed the napkin she was writing on into the pocket on her medical gown. There had to be more to this, but with a superior officer in the vicinity this discussion would have to wait.

Footsteps of the approaching officer came toward her cot.

"Conner!" Colonel Phillips shouts as he approached her bedside. "What in the hell are you squawking about over here?" He furrowed his brow at the others. "And that goes for the rest of you! You are in the infirmary for a reason! Now shut the hell up and get back to your cots! That is a direct order!"

Before they could leave, Fio sat up anxiously.

"Permission to speak freely, Colonel?"

"Speak as freely as you like…" Phillips places his hands on his hips trying hard to look angry. "But keep your ass planted where it is."

"Yes sir!" Fio responded. "What is the plan to recover Lt. Keller?"

The look on his face revealed he was not comfortable with the question. "That is a SAR concern, not yours, Lieutenant."

Fiona knew by the word SAR, it could involve Delta Attachment. Their rescues are compartmentalize to remove the possibility of enemy knowing when they were coming. However, this didn't settle her feeling on the matter.

"Of course it's my concern!" Fiona attempts to sit up, but the tubes pull her back. "He's a member of my team! We don't leave each other behind!"

Phillips sighs and shakes his head as the blood pressure monitor goes off.

"Now see what you did? You shouldn't worry about something you can't change! Now settle the hell down and shut up!"

"I'll relax when you tell me Keller is safe and sound in his bunk. Those assholes were going make us permanent part of the landscape! I don't think the guys that took off with Vincent have any nobler intentions! So tell me what's going on!"

Vanessa comes running to the bedside.

"Ok, everybody needs to go back to your beds!" She glowers at Fio. "And you! I told you that you need to rest as do the rest of you!" She now was looking at Phillips. "And Colonel, you just go back to wherever you came from! They'll be back at training after some rest, but right now they are mine! I will do whatever is needed for their well being."

Phillips snickers and salutes her playfully.

"I ain't arguing with you, sweetheart." he spoke with a grin.

Vanessa crosses her arms and bores holes in his skull with her stare.

"I'm not your wife and I'm not your daughter. The only one that is allowed to call me sweetheart is my husband." she spoke before giving gentle shove. "Now go. GO! All of you! You've all been through a horrifying ordeal and you need rest. Stay away from the army for a few days."

Fio sighs and places her hands over her face in exasperation.

"Ok, fine." she says as she looks at her friends. "We'll catch up later guys."

She smiles weakly and extend her fist for the celebratory fist bumps.

"See you, Fi." Miguel bumps her fist and everyone else follow suit.

"Please let us know when you find Vincent." Mari implores Phillips desperately. "You have to rescue him."

Mari turns and blows a kiss at Fiona before leaving. Fio frowns when Phillips nods and looks at the ground, but keeps quiet. Rodriguez shakes his head.

"After what we've been through, that ain't going to cut it for me." he bent down and gave her a huge bear hug.

"Ow!"" she attempts to return the same, but winces as her body was sore from being knocked around by terrorists. "Easy on the grabbage, dude!"

"That's what you get for trying to be a badass with a bunch of guys with guns. What in the hell were you thinking?" He shook his head at her.

Fio shrugs.

"He was beating the shit out of you and I was thinking that nobody messes with my team. You're welcome!"

"Yeah, I appreciate it, but you are NOT 10' tall and bulletproof, little lady." He teases..

"And apparently I'm not bitch-slap proof either." She rubs the bruise on the side of her face where one of the terrorists had smacked her earlier. "Ok, off with you. Go get some rest. We have earned it."

Rodriguez nods and rumples her hair before leaving.

"Take care kid." Phillips gave her a pat on the shoulder. "You do whatever Dr. Chandler tells you. We have her because she is the best there is."

"Yes sir." She offers a casual salute.

"Yeah, don't get up." He smirked gruffly. "Just take care of yourself." With that he was gone.

Dr. Chandler goes to exit, but turns around to point at Fiona.

"Sleep!" she orders! "I'm not your superior officer, but I'm in charge of keeping you healthy, Fiona! And don't think I'm above putting restraints on your bed to keep you here!"

The way Dr. C enunciates her name using all three syllables, it was evident she was not even close to kidding.

"Yes, I will stay right here. No restraint necessary. I usually save those for my dates."

Dr. C didn't even bat an eyelash.

"Really? So do I." she spoke before leaving. Fiona giggles at the response before laying back against the pillows. Sleep sounds like a good idea as her eyes flutter before drifting off into sleep.


"Vincent!" Cat reaches over to touch him.

"Do not wake him up." Justin calmly warns her. "Waking him could cause an adverse reaction. Right now he is in a place from before he knew you. If things go too far we will bring him out of the trance."

She nods and pulls her hands back to fold them in her lap. She continues to observe Vincent with concern.

"Vincent…" Justin's voice was gentle and soothing. "…it's ok. Remember you are seeing events that happened to you many years ago. You are safe. These memories cannot harm you. Tell me what you see."

Vincent's is shaking as tears stream down his face. Fear drenches his voice.

"I can't see anything. there is something over my face. It is something dark – a hood, or…" He pauses momentarily. Inside the state he was pantomiming motions as if he were really there. "Wait, I can see the ground if I look down. It is all dirt and sand. The man standing in next to me is wearing Converse All Stars. There are many people here and I can see lights shining through the shroud across my face. They are all talking to each other…I can't understand what they are saying."

"What else Vincent? Do you recognize any of the voices? What do you smell? Can you move about?"

Vincent shakes his head.

"Negative. My arms are tied behind my back. My feet are duct taped to the chair legs I can't get out." Tears filled his voice again. "I smell something…it is strong, coppery…it's blood." His voice was weak. "I do not recognize any voices…"

"Just keep remembering that you are safe, Vincent. This is not really happening to you. Are you recalling this moment…."

Before Justin could get the words out Vincent screamed in fear.

"Oh My God! Oh My God! They have a sword…a machete…they are going to cut off my head." He began to hyperventilate. "OH GOD!"

JT and Cat looks at each other mutually worried for Vincent. Seeing their expressions Justin offers a reassuring nod and resumed his focus on Vincent.

"Ok Vincent, I'm going to bring you back. You did very well. Once you are awake you will remember everything about your experience. Let's take a deep breath and I am going to count to 10. By each count you will feel more awake…2….3…you should be finding yourself growing alert of your surroundings…4…5…6…your eyes are opening and you are feeling relaxed and completely refreshed…7…8…9…you are now back in your apartment with Catherine and JT here….and 10." He watched Vincent sitting on the couch as though waking from a nap. "How do you feel?"

Vincent blinks and rubs his eyes.

"Ah…I feel pretty good, considering." He looked first at Cat and smiled then to JT giving him a nod as if he was confirming he was alright.

Cat took his hand and places the other on his face.

"Baby? What did you remember?"

Vincent closes his eyes as he recalls the details of the trance.

"We were on training maneuvers in the Uzbekistan Desert…." He focused straight ahead concentrating as more memories began to take shape. "…there were 5 of us….me, Conner, Lafferty, Rodriguez and Ryder….."

He described the events that took place that night stopping at the point when Justin brought him out of his trance.

"Oh my God, Vincent." Catherine's eyes brimmed over in tears. "No wonder you blocked that memory. I can't even imagine going through something so horrifying." She clasped his hand tight as he pulled her into an embrace and stroked her hair.

"Well…you were obviously rescued from death's clutches…" JT shrugged. "…because here you are. And you don't remember how that happened?"

Vincent shook his head absentmindedly as more and more of the picture began to emerge. He smiles as a memory of the first day at Bagram flooded his memory, the first time he met her…another time in the canteen laughing over shots, he could hear her laugh, the fierceness in her voice as she called the troops to order. It all came back as if it has happened yesterday. Vincent's smile grew wider and wider.

"I remember." He whispers.

"How you were rescued?" JT asked hopefully.

"Well, no…" Vincent slowly shook his head. "But she is slowly filtering into my memories as if she was there all the time…I mean she was there…they are my same memories…it's all beginning to make sense where she fit ."

"Like missing pages from a book that binds the story together?" Justin asked.

"Yeah." Vincent was now grinning as the memories made him happy. "I called her my Afghanistan JT. She was my best friend during my time at Bagram. And these memories are like the sun coming out after a winter storm." His face fell. "But, I still do not remember what happened to her."

Justin stood up and gathered his belongings.

"Little by little things will come back to you as we have more session." He pauses then turned to Vincent. "Assuming you wish to continue that is?"

Vincent purses his lips together thoughtfully then nods.

"Yeah." He replied somewhat hesitantly. "We made more progress than I thought this would, so let's go for it." He shrugd while emitting a soft chuckle. "Are you free tomorrow?"

Justin laughs.

"So I take it you no longer think this is bullshit?"

Vincent just shook his head.

"You proved me wrong. " He folded his arms and grinned wide. "Congratulations. As my wife will gladly attest to that is not easy to do."

Cat looks up at him and nods affirmatively.

"Yeah, my husband is a skeptic. With good reason, but it is not an easy task to change his mind."

Justin chuckled.

"I do get that a lot in this line of work. I am a psychologist with a PhD and have spent many hours perfecting this technique. I have even been on Dr. Phil." He sighs and shook his head. "But the majority of humans believe that I will turn them into a chicken. Go figure."

Cat, Vincent and JT all laughed.

"Common doc…I'll walk you out." JT motioned toward the door.

Justin turned to Vincent before leaving.

"If you start remembering anything else give me a call immediately." He hands him his card. "Otherwise, I will see you tomorrow." He turns and left with JT.

After they were gone Cat smiled at Vincent.

"Hey…I'm proud of you." She wraps her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the lips.

"I should be grateful that JT decided to tranq me…" He scoffs incredulously. "…but seriously? Who does that? Does anybody else have friends that go around shooting tranquilizer darts at their best friends? Have you ever really thought about how fucked up this all is?"

Cat giggles.

"Well, not everybody has a friend who can beast out at the drop of a hat. But yes, JT was way out of line shooting you like that." She wraps her arms around his waist and placed her chin against his chest looking up at him. "Soooo…now that we are alone…do you feel like taking your wife to the bedroom and show me your beast."

She starts to walk him backward toward the hallway.

Vincent looks at her and sighs regretfully.

"Baby, I would REALLY love to, but, I just got a text that Jake's bloodwork was completed." He sighs, and then grins. "But I promise…tonight you can wear your Belle gown and I will dance you around the parlor before taking you to bed and making Mrs. Potts cover Chip's eyes. But how about in the meantime you come along with me to check on the blood results, and afterward we can get a bite to eat so we can get our strength up for tonight?"

Cat pouts playfully and sighs.

"Well only because I know how important this is to you, I'll let it slide this time." She raises an eyebrow. "But if you ever put this girl over having animalistic sex with your wife ever again, we are going to have words…and I WILL break out night stick and the cuffs."

This made Vincent wiggle his eyebrows then he grew serious.

"Catherine, there is no woman alive that will ever come before you. But until I figure out why I am having all these memories coming back to haunt me from the war…"

"I know…I know." She touches his face and smiles. "It sounds like whatever your team went through in Afghanistan was horrific. You need to learn if she is alive out there, or if she was killed by those terrorists that took you."

Vincent nods.

"And the sooner we go, the sooner we can get back here." He picks her up and carries her swooping her body like a baby in a cradle causing Cat to giggle.

They were stopped at the door by Tess who was about ready to knock. Next to her was a man that Cat did not recognize.

"Ah...hi?" Cat smiled sheepishly. "We were just…erm…."

Tess shudders and held her hand out.

"Save it! Whatever it is will be way too much information for my stomach. I just wanted to introduce you to your new…."

"Alex?" Vincent set Catherine down and approaches him slowly, stunned. "Holy shit! Is that really you?"

Alex's face lit up as he recognized Vincent. "Vincent Keller? My God! I thought you were killed!"

The two men reached out for each other laughing and embracing each other like two long-lost brothers while Cat and Tess looked on completely lost by whatever was taking place.